


Learning

by itbepansam



Series: Commissions [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-12-31 02:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12122523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itbepansam/pseuds/itbepansam
Summary: Keith finds out about his best friend and his insecurities.





	Learning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Agapostemon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agapostemon/gifts).



> This is a commission for Agapostemon. Thank you so much for commissioning me!!

The loud buzz of the cafeteria rattled inside Keith’s head as he sat down next to Matt. Eyebrows scrunched together when he noticed they were short one. 

“Where's Shiro?” 

Warm brown eyes looked up at him, and Keith saw how quickly Matt’s brain was thinking.

“He had an appointment with the nurse.”

Keith’s frown deepend. “Is he okay?” Shiro didn’t usually miss out on meals, plus it was a little late in the day for a checkup. This didn’t sit well with him.

“Oh, yeah. He's fine.”

“Then why is he in the nurse’s office?” Was he sick? Was it for an evaluation? Did this have to do with the Kerberos mission? A hand on his shoulder brought him back, expecting it to be Shiro, but it was only Matt trying to get his attention. 

“Would you  _ stop _ that worry wart of a brain? Shiro’s fine. He just told me this morning that he had an appointment and that he'd be back after dinner.” 

“Okay,” he nodded. He knew it was no good to worry when he didn't have all of the information. Shiro would share when he was done. 

He could wait. So, in the meantime he and Matt joked around and talked about how excited they were to find out about the Kerberos mission. The team hadn't been decided yet, but everyone knew Shiro was a shoo in for the pilot. That just left the mechanic and communications director. Matt was hoping for mechanic. Keith believed in both of his friends, even if it meant he'd be without the closest thing he had known as a family for about a year. He knew how much Matt and Shiro wanted this. Maybe one day the three of them could fly into space and just get lost in the stars. 

Dinner ended, and they headed back to the dorms, talking about how Mothman is the savior of mankind.

When they walked into the room, they saw Shiro laying on the bed, head in his pillow and shirtless. It took them a moment to realize that he was shaking. Matt moved so quickly, Keith would have sworn he teleported. 

“Hey, buddy, hey. What's going on?” Matt spoke softly, running his hand down Shiro’s back. Keith had never been good with crying, so he hung back. This was when he noticed that Shiro’s mirror looked like it had been punched, with one very specific spot with a million little cracks and slowly leaking outwards like an echo. A look to Shiro’s slightly bloodied hand confirmed as much. But Keith didn't understand why this had happened. He was concerned for Shiro, who was the closest thing he had ever known to having a family after being abandoned by his father and then bounced around in various foster homes. Shiro was a guy who had stood up for him against the people that would whisper about him, who showed no fear when sneaking out at night, or when lying directly to Iverson’s face. But here, in this moment, was a Shiro that Keith had never seen before, but one he would absolutely try to help feel better. 

Shiro revealed his face, eyes red from sobbing. His grey hues looked from Matt, to Keith and back again. Matt shook his head, to which Shiro closed his eyes and sniffled. Then he sat up slowly. 

Keith suddenly became very aware of the fact that he had never seen Shiro shirtless. He saw two scars on his chest, and Keith’s first instinct was anger.

_ Who had hurt Shiro? _

“Matt already knew this, but I trust you enough to know, too. Kinda sucks that it happened this way, but it's okay. Better now than later, when it might have been too late.” He said, which just confused Keith.

“Wait, what?” 

“I'm trans.”

Keith’s confused look didn't falter. 

“I was born as a girl, but I made myself look like a guy because that's who I am inside,” he said, voice gruff from the tightness of his throat. 

“Okay. What's your point?”

“That's it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. He spoke in a quip tone. It was defensive. A tone that Shiro had never taken with Keith. 

“Shiro, if you say you're a guy, you're a guy. I don't care. I'm more concerned as to why you're crying,” he said. Who was he to say what others felt? It wasn't his place to tell someone they weren't what they said they were. They knew their own bodies better than he did. 

Shiro looked down. “Every so often I have to go to the nurse and take a shot of testosterone because it helps my body look more masculine. But I just got told this would be my last appointment for a while.”

“What, why?” Matt asked. “Is this the Garrison’s doing?”

“I got chosen for the Kerberos mission.” 

It was so silent in the room before Keith and Matt were excitedly yelling, telling Shiro congratulations.

“Stop. Stop!” Shiro exclaimed, already on the verge of tears again. “Don't you get it?!” 

The look on Matt’s and Keith’s faces indicated that they did not get it. 

“There's a total of five people at the Garrison that know I'm trans and two of them are right here. I can't take testosterone in space! Which means I'll have a period again. And I may start to look feminine again. And I  _ hate  _ it! I hate it so much.” He was crying again, fingernails digging into his arms as he held himself. “I came in here and I looked at myself and I got so angry about being mistaken as a girl again that I punched my mirror.” 

Keith and Matt sat on either side of Shiro, Matt was rubbing his back while Keith ran his fingers through his shorthairs on the back of his head. 

“Listen to me, Takashi. You are the most masculine guy I have ever met. Before I knew how much of a  _ nerd _ you are, I was convinced that you were one of those varsity football jocks you see in all those dumb movies. It's probably really scary for you, but it's gonna be okay. I know it is. And if anyone gives you any crap, I'll be right there to kick their ass.”

Shiro was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke in a quiet, “What if it's an alien?”

Keith cracked a smile. “Then I'll fly into space and kick their ass. I don't care if they're a hundred feet tall. If they talk badly about you, they're gonna get their ass kicked.”

That made Shiro chuckle. He wiped his face of the tears and snot. 

“Okay, nap time. I'm exhausted from being shot and then crying.” Shiro began to lean back. 

“Let's clean your fist first, yeah?” Keith said as he got up and got the first aid kit that was in the desk of every dorm room at the Garrison. He got a cloth and the bandages. He carefully cleaned the wound, just a few cuts along his knuckles, then wrapped his hand. Then he felt himself being tugged into bed. He was on one side while Matt was on the other. 

“Now it's nap time,” Shiro said sleepily. “Thank you both. You guys are the best friends a guy could have.” 

“Get some rest, you dork,” Keith teased affectionately. “You deserve it.”

Shiro smirked, but he closed his eyes and before long he was snoring softly. 

Keith looked at the scars on Shiro’s chest, then over at Matt. 

“How long did you know?”

“Since we were assigned as roommates. They had to make sure I was okay with it. And I told them I didn't care. As long as Shiro was willing to clean his share of the room, I didn't care what was going underneath his clothes.”

“I don't care either. He's Shiro. That's who he's been, and that's who he'll continue to be. I won't let anyone say any differently, especially while he's up on Kerberos,” Keith stated firmly. 

He would fight tooth and nail to make sure Shiro’s good name wasn't tarnished. Not by some punk, or the Garrison, or even Shiro’s parents. 

Little did Keith know that those words would be the reason he'd be left alone in the middle of the desert with just a pack of his and Shiro’s things he stole from the Garrison with no regard for what he left behind. 


End file.
